The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published its 2019 Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report, which includes the decisions WADA received before January 31, 2021.
This document follows WADA’s 2019 Anti-Doping Testing Figures, which detailed the 278,047 samples received in 2019. Of those samples, 2,701 were “Adverse Analytical Findings” (AAFs), otherwise known as positive test results. Out of those 2,701 AAFs, there were 1,912 total analytical and non-analytical anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs).
An analytical ADRV is a violation based on a positive test result. A non-analytical ADRV is when an athlete or “athlete support person” commits a violation that does not involve testing, such as refusing to submit a blood/urine sample, tampering with any part of doping control, or possession of a prohibited substance.
Below is a breakdown of the 2,701 AAFs:
- 1,535 were confirmed as analytical ADRVs
- 297 were dismissed because of valid medical reasons
- 274 were categorized as “no case to answer” (i.e. case closed for valid reason other than medical)
- 49 resulted in “no sanction” because the athlete was absolved
- 546 were still awaiting results
The 1,535 analytical ADRVs were committed by 1,183 male athletes and 352 female athletes. There were also 377 non-analytical ADRVs committed by 351 athletes and 26 athlete support personnel.
There were a total of 17,191 samples taken in aquatics, with 1,063 coming from diving, 1,000 from open water, and over 12,000 from swimming. Of those total samples, 39 were analytical ADRVs. There were also 11 non-analytical ADRVs, adding up to a total of 50 violations.
These numbers have increased across the board from the previous two years. Below is data from 2016-2019 onward for aquatics ADRVs:
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| Analytical ADRVs | 39 | 32 | 27 | 33 |
| Non-Analytical ADRVs | 11 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Total ADRVs | 50 | 39 | 32 | 35 |
The sports with the highest number of ADRVs were bodybuilding (272), athletics (227), cycling (179), and weightlifting (160).
Nations with the highest number of ADRVs were the Russian Federation (167), Italy (157), and India (152). The United States had 62, with 20 violations coming from weightlifting, seven from athletics, and six from triathlon..
That total ranks fourth behind football/soccer (40,233), athletics (34,576), and cycling (24,577), out of 207,386 samples provided by the Association of Summer Olympic International Sports Federations (ASOIF).
The entire report can be viewed below.
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